March 17th, 2011

Help Panic help Japan: 100% of proceeds from today’s Panic sales go to earthquake victims

Of all the respected and well known software development shops here in town, one of the most loved by Apple types has to be Panic, makers of fine software like Transmit and Coda. And while they’re relatively quiet, they do know when to be loud.

Nobuhiro, who runs Panic Japan, packed up his wife and two kids in his home town of Kashiwa, and, after finding gas, drove them to Nagoya, far from the looming threat of a legitimate nuclear disaster. Kenichi, our icon genius, was, amazingly, right here in Portland when everything hit, and he watched it unfold stunned and disconnected: just the latest Bruckheimer production in a tiny streaming video window. He’s now on his way back to Nagoya. And while part of me wonders if he’s headed in the wrong direction, when he e-mailed me the latest ultrasound sent from his pregnant wife (it’s a boy!), I knew he was right.

Part of it is, well, they’re human.

You might be sick of it — being told to donate to a charity. If you’re like me, donating to a charity is an abstract, disconnected affair. So, we thought we’d make it a little more tangible, allowing you to help Japan directly while getting Panic software with one swift click.

Panic will donate 100% of today’s proceeds directly to the Japanese relief effort.

It doesn’t matter if you buy direct from us or via the Mac App Store, we’ll take care of it. We’ll total up sales from 10:00 AM PST Mar 17th to 10:00 AM PST Mar 18th. And we plan to donate to a mix of the Japanese Red Cross Society and Portland’s own Mercy Corps.

It’s a drop in the bucket, but this is our family. Thanks in advance for your purchases and, in turn, your donations.

If you’ve got a Mac, please use it to act. To purchase and, in turn, donate, please visit Panic.